Commercial Exoskeletons 201
FalconZero writes "For those of you with superhuman aspirations, your dream may be a step closer; New Scientist (recently) and the Japan Times (last year) covered Yoshiyuki Sankai's work at
the University of Tsukuba in Japan developing powered exoskeletons
with commercial versions expected soon costing between $14,000 and $19,000
(£7,500-£10,000). Other work with exoskeletons previously covered
here(1),
here(2) and
here(3)."
BLEEX (Score:5, Informative)
Video [berkeley.edu]
I swear that guy in the video is the Star Wars kid, if was making robot noises with his mouth he would have me convinced.
I, for one, welcome our new Exoskeleton Overlords! (Score:3, Informative)
Alas, for Robert A. Heinlein's vision of Powersuits in Starship Troopers, exoskeletons, like those giant Japanese Mechs, are very cool in fiction, but probably not terribly useful in reality compared to more mundane alternatives.
Lawrence Person, Science Fiction Writer
Re:Exoman (Score:5, Informative)
getting a better crystal ball (Score:3, Informative)
As noted in another thread:
Neogentronyx is currently in the process of constructing a Bipedal Exo-Skeletal Robotic Vehicle [neogentronyx.com] [neogentronyx.com], known as a Mech and designated NMX04-1A. The purpose of the NMX04-1A is proof of concept and to make the first bold step towards full production of Mecha vehicles, affordable to civilians and not just commercial entities. There are plenty of pretty pictures and info here [neogentronyx.com] [neogentronyx.com]. See also these larger more recent pics [coasttocoastam.com] [coasttocoastam.com]
Another fine product of Alaska, approximately 18 ft tall (7 meters)
As someone noted:
Bring a few cans of WD-40. Looks like they are assembling this thing out in the open! No building to put it in!
Do you think that he's any competition?
Re:Blame it on Gundam (Score:1, Informative)
Re:BLEEX (Score:5, Informative)
At least, that's what I got from reading that site for a few minutes.
Re:Limited Usefulness (Score:3, Informative)
Re:I, for one, welcome our new Exoskeleton Overlor (Score:4, Informative)
I think balance is starting become a solved problem. Look at the Segway for starters... plus previous Slashdot articles have linked to some very impressive videos of (small) robots doing handstands, ballet, etc. So it appears that balance is just a matter of having a fast enough computer running a clever enough feedback algorithm.
I think a more difficult problem will be energy: how does your exoskeleton carry enough fuel/energy to be useful without adding too much weight or compromising the user's safety?